THE professional decorum of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) psychiatrist was shattered momentarily when she was going over the results of my psychiatric examination as a part of the hiring process for professors. She asked why I rated “contacting the police” so low if I encountered a problem. I responded that I would not hesitate to reach out to the police in the USA but would be very hesitant here in the Philippines due to problems with corruption in the police and needing to pay for potential results. She broke into a broad grin and understood why my response was not typical of what she could typically expect in the psychiatric exam scoring.
That was in 1996. Skip forward to 2020.
When I have been out walking in recent months in Baguio City and La Trinidad, police officers have stopped me on numerous occasions in order to check my quarantine pass or inquire where I was going. And several months ago, before the enhanced community quarantine started, I was also stopped by three officers one time just to engage in conversation. They told me they were reaching out to foreigners to let us know that the police were here to help them and even advised me on suspicious activities to be aware of in the local area.
My recent experiences have reshaped my perception of the Philippine National Police force. My many encounters with policemen and policewomen in recent months have all been highly positive. All police officers I have interacted with are professional, articulate and in tune with local and national priorities as it relates to their protection of the people. The police instill confidence in the way they carry out their duties.
It is appropriate to give credit for these notable changes to the resounding success of the Philippine Government’s professionalization efforts across the decades in between the two periods I have lived in the Philippines (mid-1990s and 2020).
We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Philippine National Police and all that they do on a daily basis to maintain safe community environments and in their crucial front-liner roles during this pandemic crisis. They have my confidence and respect.
Now I tell everyone about my positive experiences with the police. If I run into the psychiatrist from PMA, I will tell her I would not hesitate to reach out to the police if I had a problem today!